Are you searching for someone to listen to you? For many years, I have heard over and over clients say, “Thank you, I have just been wanting someone to listen to me - to hear me”. I have always felt led to sit and listen when a client went from answering assessment questions to opening up and spilling their heart. Assessment is essential to begin building a relationship between a client and counselor. However, I believe listening is just as important. I have been a licensed social worker for over 25 years. My love for helping people learn how to help themselves and redirect their thoughts and feelings led me to finishing my life long dream and career goal of returning to school and becoming a licensed counselor a few years ago. I, too, struggled with confidence and fear that it was too late for me to reach this dream. But something inside me kept telling me I wasn’t where I wanted to be in my career path of helping people. With the encouragement of a loving husband, and with my kids being grown, I finally had the time to work toward my goal. As a social worker in healthcare settings, there was always a force to push through situations and find resources quickly in order to get the patient home safely. I longed for more time just to let them talk through their fears and emotions in order to help them navigate to find their own strengths and solutions. I have found that one of the most important things for me to do for my clients is to sit and listen to them. With my clients over the years, I have gained experience in helping them work through stress, anxiety, depression, family dynamics, job loss, marital problems, physical limitations and/or disabilities, as well as long term life-altering situations. These situations often affect not only the individual, but their relationships with friends and family. I have spent many years working with the senior population in nursing facilities, rehabilitation hospitals, and in their own homes. These situations brought me to work with adults of all ages due to the circumstances affecting relationships with family and friends. I am a wife, a mother of two young adult children, a mother-in-law, a sister and a daughter myself. I understand and know how family dynamics affect an individual’s physical and emotional health in all aspects of their daily lives. I am currently taking adult clients of all ages and I look forward to working with you!

What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?

In our first session we will hopefully be able to briefly review your intake information completed prior to session and fill in any further needed details you feel are pertinent. This will allow us to move on to you being able to share the main reason you have reached for counseling. It is very important for us to establish a comfortable and trusting flow of communication so that you can begin to untangle your stressors and begin to make sense of possible coping skills and solutions.

Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.

In my 25 + years of working as a professional, I have had the opportunity to work in new born adoption, nursing facilities, acute hospital and case management in clients personal home. This experience has allowed me to work with adults of all ages, family systems and help individuals and their families work through personal, health and life changing events. Out of my years as a professional most were working with clients in healthcare such as nursing homes, hospital and private homes. Working in a hospital setting during a world wide pandemic was not just life changing for the patients, but for me as a professional as well. We made it to the other side of that unexpected life altering experience. It wasn't easy, but I am a stronger professional for the experience.

About Lynn Pendergrass